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Daylife/AP Photo used by permission

Vietnam has marked 35 years since the end of its war by staging a re-enactment of the fall of the Saigon.

Thousands of troops marched through the streets of what is now officially called Ho Chi Minh City to mark the day the communist North claimed victory…

The Vietnam War claimed the lives of three million Vietnamese and some 60,000 US soldiers…

The BBC’s Nga Pham in the city said the events began in the early hours to avoid the heat of the day, with a play recounting the history of the country from ancient times to when the North’s tanks smashed through the gates of the palace, leading to the surrender of the southern government…

A replica tank drove through the city to the palace, greeted by cheers from the crowds.

The event was an emotional one for many who lived through the war itself, with some people crying as they watched the display.

“We are here today, very emotional, and thinking of what happened 35 years ago,” said Vu Dang Toan, a member of the tank unit involved in the victory in 1975. “It was a great victory, it was very quick to liberate Saigon and the country is reunited…”

“I think of my comrades who sacrificed their lives for the country. We feel happy but we always are grateful to those who died for our country,” said 80-year-old veteran Vu Thi Nham.

Here I am living in a land where some veterans of that war still campaign for political office on the basis of their participation. Ignorant, base, in their claims of patriotism for the invasion of a land on the other side of the world.

I realize the phenomenon is nothing new. There probably were members of Caesar’s Legions who claimed a seat in the Roman Senate on the basis of their heroism in imperial war.